The Nika Trilogy Part 2: Nika's Past
by The Sweeping Channel
Summary: IF you wish to understand this story, PLEASE refer to the first part, The Nika Trilogy Part 1: Nika. THIS is simply a continuation of the first part. Thank you, and REVIEW! Chapters 11 and 12 are up now, finally!
1. Aang

**MAAARY SUUUUUUUUUEEE!!!!!! That was my official Mary Sue alert. But it's not actually as bad as it seems^^. Yeah, so the first sentence doesn't support that theory, but whatever. Please review!  
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Chapter 1: Aang

Nika was the perfect girl. Everyone loved her. She tried really hard to fit in with the group. Knowing her sister was just crazy and her father was the current Firelord, Nika had to make sure that she convinced everyone, including herself, that she was not the person that she used to be. And the one person she felt she had to prove herself the most to was Katara.

Nika knew that Katara was constantly concerned about my safety. She, therefore, knew that Katara, although she was doing a good job of dissembling her feelings, was slightly suspicious of Nika's true intentions. Katara was always trying to inwardly suppress it, but she just couldn't let go of the fact that she was unsure of why Nika even existed. And anyway, she was jealous that Nika and I had such a "good relationship". Actually, she secretly hoped that it _was_ just jealousy, and not something else, like fear. I, on the other hand, didn't even hint at what Katara was feeling. I was too busy learning how to firebend.

Nika was a great teacher. Compared to what we considered the stereotypical firebender, she was the exact opposite. She was calm and relaxed when she was firebending. Unlike Azula, her firebending wasn't fueled by anger, hate, or rage.

"Fire isn't hate and destruction." she always said. "It's life." Like her uncle, she always had a helpful, thoughtful, and intelligent thought on hand. This was one of the reasons that Zuko loved her so much. She reminded him of Iroh. However, she was very strict when it came to the well being of others.

"Relaxation," she lectured, "and rest are the most vital things to anyone. A firebender, any bender, come to think of it, has to be alert and awake at all times, because anything can happen at any given moment. Nobody can concentrate on anything when they are sleepy!" she said. Those words made the memories of the few days before the original invasion resurface in my mind.

"Trust me, I know!" I said quietly. Everyone giggled except for Nika and Zuko, who were kind of confused.

"You kinda had to be there." Katara said. Everyone only laughed harder. Nika frowned and crossed her arms.

"Great." she said, half-heartedly. The laughter stopped when she walked over and pointed at me. "If you're so awake and well rested, then you should be able to stand on that rock over there and scan your surroundings." she said with a stern face and pointed to a huge boulder.

"Do I have to?" I whined. Nika didn't have to say anything. She just gave me a bullet glare and I slinked off to do what I was told. Little did I know that while my back was turned, Nika was formulating a little prank. After later inquiry, I discovered that apparently, she motioned for the others to be quiet. She followed me without me noticing anything at all. She waited for a minute or so until I had positioned myself so that I wouldn't fall. Nika had purposely chosen a slippery rock that was hard to stand on.

Staying close to the rock itself to avoid being spotted, she finally found the perfect position and flipped up onto the rock, knocking me off. That's what made the prank so unfair, since it had taken me a really long time to finally get up.

"Hey!" I retorted and stood up. Nika sat on top of the rock and smiled at me.

"If you had been awake and well rested, then you would have been able to see me while you were scanning your environment. It's either that or you are a horrible scanner." She laughed as I blushed from embarrassment. She slid down and pushed me over playfully. I offered no resistance, and landed with a thud on the grassy plain.

"The grass is so soft…" I said. Without warning, I shot a wind at Nika, planning to surprise her. It didn't really do anything, since she dodged it easily. She smiled.

"That, my airbending friend, is how you should react to everything that comes your way." she said smugly. I stood up and brushed myself off. Nika went behind me, quick as a thought, and pushed me over again so that I fell flat on my face.

"Wow. You stink." Katara commented, suppressing a giggle.

"I do not!" I responded angrily. Who was she to tell me that I stunk? She hadn't even trained with Nika before!

"Actually, you do. C'mon! I even felt that all the way over here!" Toph said. I stormed past Nika, who had an amused grin on her face. Even Zuko had to snicker at the frustrated expression on my face. Nika grabbed the back of my shirt.

"C'mon Aang. I was just kidding." She smiled. She was probably thinking that I was such a sore loser! But I'd get her back for that. Nika knew that I usually wasn't like this. I was just acting silly. I turned around.

"Oh really, Ms. Scorn-of-the-fire-nation?" I smirked.

"You did not just call me that!" Nika said, and seconds later, we were wrestling in the grass. Sokka walked over to us and glared at Nika.

"You may be able to beat Aang," he started, "but with my supply of manly manliness, you don't stand a chance.

"Okay Mr. Man. I'd like to see you beat me. Come on, I'm not afraid of you." She smiled mischievously. He knocked her over. I sat up to watch the scuffle. As the seconds passed, everyone gathered around them. It didn't take long, and Sokka was pinned to the floor by Nika's petite feet.

"Pff, I let you win." he scoffed.

"Right." Nika said and rolled her eyes. She helped Sokka up, who then proceeded to brush himself off.

"She wasn't even trying. You were." Toph stated. Sokka frowned.

"But that's not fair! She had… training… or something." he said, reaching for words.

"Actually, Sokka has a point. I was trained to be prepared and to be agile and stuff. But that doesn't change the fact that he just got his butt kicked… by a _girl_!" Nika responded, smiling.

"Oh yeah? Well, I happen to know more when it comes to strategic war plans and things like that. Plus, I happen to be stronger than you. So you need to be careful with who you're messing with, because trust me, you don't wanna get on my unfriendly side!" Sokka was flailing his arms around and around like a maniac. Nika was just standing there with her arms crossed, a smug grin on her face. "Are you even listening?" Sokka asked, angrily.

"Of course I'm listening Sokka. I'm just not caring about anything you're saying!" she exclaimed and walked away.

"ARGH!" Sokka yelled. "Why do girls have to be so frustrating? It's like they're in another world!" he stomped off. Nika grabbed his shirt as she had mine, turned him around, and took his face in her hand.

"I'm only kidding Sokka. I always care about what you have to say…" she said softly. Sokka almost melted on the spot. Her voice was so perfect and velvety. Suddenly, she removed her hands and Sokka fell to the floor. She giggled.

"Sucker." she said quietly.

"I hate you." he said.

"I hate you more." she replied, extending her hand. Sokka took it willingly.

"C'mon you two! Let's go back to the camp. Appa is itching to fly!" I called loudly. Man, those two took forever to get a move on! I haven't seen Sokka this close to a girl… ever! Not even with Suki! And that's saying something.

"Looks like Aang isn't the only one that needs teaching!" Nika added.

"Quiet, you." Sokka said sullenly.

I began to walk back to camp, but I caught wind of their conversation anyway.

"There aren't a lot of girls like you, you know." Sokka said, after dusting himself off.

"I know." Nika said softly. I turned around and saw that she had taken Sokka's hand. I shook my head. This wasn't good at all. I may not have been the love doctor, but this was guaranteed to cause some kind of serious trouble. And why did I have the feeling that Suki was going to be the cause of all of it?

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**Ooh, cliffhanger! SO yeha, that was on purpose. I'm working on the second chapter right now. See you next week, same avatar time, same avatar channel! The Sweeping Channel!**

**oh yeah.**

**REVIEW. **

**~Sweep~**


	2. Sokka

**Sha la la la looooooooooove! Okay, so maybe Aang was right. IS this really going to work out? And his last question is a bit of foreshadowing, so pay attention! I just LOOOOOOOOVE love triangles, whisch is why i write about them!! XD  
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"There aren't a lot of girls like you, you know." Sokka said, after dusting himself off.

"I know." Nika said softly. I turned around and saw that she had taken Sokka's hand. I shook my head. This wasn't good at all. I may not have been the love doctor, but this was guaranteed to cause some kind of serious trouble. And why did I have the feeling that Suki was going to be the cause of all of it?

Chapter 2: Sokka

Dusk was fast approaching. We had just finished setting up camp when I decided to go and look for Nika. After we had landed, she was quick to go and search for a bit of food. Although it did seem a little suspicious, especially to Zuko, (maybe he thought she was seeing some other brooding jerk, heh heh heh…), we let her go. She seemed a bit edgy the entire ride. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom or something.

Nika had been gone for a while, so after getting everyone's agreement, I walked down the path I had seen Nika take. I began to wonder why Aang had had this concerned look on his face. Was there a stain on my shirt? Did I smell bad? Well, whatever it was, it blew away as soon as I saw her, with her back to me, picking berries. Every so often, she would lift her hand and rub her face. It took me a while to stop staring and walk up to her.

Through her thin shirt, I noticed that something was glowing. So that was why she kept on rubbing her face! Her mark was glowing, and it was hurting her again. I wondered what she was thinking about. I tapped her shoulder, and I found out.

When I first made contact with her, I felt a tingling going up my arm and spreading through my entire body. It moved past my elbow, down my front into my legs, and then back up the back, into my head. As soon as it reached my mind, everything went black. Then, a scene materialized in front of me. It was faded, like a dream. It was like looking through a window with shimmering white frame. I recognized where I was. I was in the temple of the Fire Sages. They were all gathered around something. A little girl. She looked afraid and alone, and I had to fight myself to reach out, grab her, and pull her to me, away from whatever it was that was scaring her.

The Fire Sages mumbled some kind of a… prayer? Chant? Whatever it was, the little girl seemed to shake fearfully. She asked her mother, whom I could not see, what they were going to do. I heard a soft and melodic voice answer that everything was going to be okay, and that there would be no need to worry. I wanted to believe it. The girl swallowed nervously and nodded her head as each one of the Sages shot a pillar of fire into the air, creating a kind of tent-like thing. I looked at the Sages, and couldn't find the one we had met when we had been there. I exhaled in relief.

That relief was short-lived when I realized that the Sages began to walk backwards. This widened the circle, and caused the fire tent to go lower and lower, closer and closer to the poor girl. I saw how hard she was trying to be brave, felt her fear and unease. It was like I was one with the girl.

The tent touched her hair, but she didn't catch fire. She wasn't burning, but I felt her intense pain. I tried to look away, but I couldn't.

She kept calling out to her mother.

"Mama, make them stop!" she begged.

The melodic voice was silent.

"Please, mama! Mama… mama please… _MAMA!!_" With her last scream, I was catapulted out of the mysterious and heart-wrenching vision, back into my own body. I had control over my eyes again. And at that very moment, they were staring at a very amused Nika.

"Earth to Sokka! Anyone home?" she asked. I frowned.

"Out of body experience?" she asked, resuming her picking. I nodded, but remained silent.

"Was it cool?"

"Not really." I replied.

"What do you mean?" She was curious now.

"It… it was like… like I was revisiting something. Like a memory. A very bad memory, actually. A very bad, _childhood_ memory." I hinted. Now it was her turn to be silent.

"That's crazy talk!" she said after a while. She took a last look at the bush, which, I noticed, was severely lacking in berries. I looked into Nika's basket and saw where they all had gone.

"I guess that's all for today!" she said, a fake smile plastered onto her face.

"Let's go back?" I suggested. She nodded. Something was bothering her; I could tell by the way she was talking. It definately had something to do with the vision that I had just had. Then, something occurred to me.

Was it her memory that I had revisited?

We continued to walk through the trees.

"Are you okay?" Nika asked, concern in her voice. But there was something else there, too. Was it edginess?

"No, I'm fine. I'm just… thinking a lot." I replied quietly.

"Thinking, hm. Do you do that very often?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten up the mood. I smiled. It was working. The edginess was gone.

For the time being, I pushed the strange vision to the back of my mind, and proceeded to spit out a comeback.

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**More foreshadowing!!! Weep mortals, for my foreshadowing powers are unbeatable! How much could you find?? Tell me the answer to that question when you...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!**

**~Sweep~**


	3. Katara

**Dun da da da! Here comes the lovely Katara and her endless descriptions of things that are boring. No, no, just kidding. I actually admire Katara for her strength and love and bla bla bla. I just had to show some stuff that is normal!  
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"Thinking, hm. Do you do that very often?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten up the mood. I smiled. It was working. The edginess was gone.

For the time being, I pushed the strange vision to the back of my mind, and proceeded to spit out a comeback.

Chapter 3: Katara

The next few days went on uneventfully. We flew without any specific goal, only to get as close to the Fire Nation as we possibly could without getting killed, and to prepare Aang in the best possible way before the summer ended. The day routine was usually the same.

Nika woke us up after she had prepared breakfast. After that, Aang practiced his Earthbending with Toph until lunchtime, since it was the art that required the most time. Then, after we had lunch, Aang practiced Waterbending with me during the first half of the afternoon, and firebending with Zuko and Nika until after dark.

Did I say uneventful? I meant uneventful for everyone except Aang. He was the one who did all the work, while the people that weren't training with him tried to find a minimally destructive way to spend their time. This became an especially large problem for Toph, who had a tendency to slam rocks into other rocks when she was bored. I personally preferred to clean up or wash clothing, while Sokka spent the entire day thinking up ways to destroy the most Fire Nation soldiers on record. The only person that Nika agreed with was me, because she though that the rock slamming was too loud, and that soldiers deserved a second chance as well.

Speaking of Nika, she continued to preach the importance of rest and relaxation, although she had begun to look a bit weary herself. So weary, in fact, that she, of all people, had to sit down during practices. As the days went on, it got worse and worse.

"Aang!" she scolded. "Stop working yourself so hard! You need to be well rested." She yawned.

"Shouldn't I be saying the same thing to you?" Aang asked. Nika yawned again.

"Same what thing?" she asked sleepily.

"The same thing that you just told me." he answered suspiciously.

"What did I just tell you?" she asked, obviously confused. Aang groaned.

"That I need to be well rested!" he said, exasperated.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah." she said. It was obvious that her thoughts were somewhere else. "I think that we should take a break."

"But we just started ten minutes ago!" he protested. He threw a pleading glance in Zuko's direction, but Zuko just stared at his sister with silent resolution.

"Let her go." he mouthed. Aang nodded.

"Maybe you should go lay down." he said to Nika, who was about to fall asleep where she sat. She stood up and began to walk towards where her tent stood. It was always the first to go up, since she was the one that needed it the most.

I walked over to where the other two stood.

"You know her the best. Did you ever see her like this?" I asked Zuko. He shook his head.

"I haven't seen that girl in three and a half years. I'm sure that a lot of things have changed, so I don't know her any better than you do. But I did spend the most time with her. I'd say that this is definately not normal." he answered that wasn't the answer that I was hoping to hear. I turned around to catch up with her before she disappeared into her tent again.

"Nika!" I called. She turned around slowly. I caught up with her and looked her straight in the eyes, something that nobody did very often.

"You're tired." I said. "Why?"

"I dunno. I guess I've just had a few sleepless nights. Zuko snores." she answered.

"C'mon. Walk and talk." I said after a while. We began to head away from camp.

After we had walked out of earshot of the others, I began to talk.

"I can tell when people are lying to me. Maybe not like Toph, but I'm pretty good at reading people. That and I know for a fact that Zuko doesn't snore." Nika raised her eyebrows.

"You know for a fact that Zuko doesn't snore? How?"

"That's not the point." I said, not wanting to bring up our trip to the Southern Raiders. "The point is that you're tired for another reason. I believe that part about the sleepless nights, but not the reason why. So, I'll ask again. You're tired. Why?" She looked at me for a long time, and then sighed.

"Does it have anything to do with what Sokka saw?" I tried again. now I had her attention.

"How do you know what Sokka saw?" she whispered. We stopped walking and sat near a cluster of rocks.

"He cracks under pressure." I replied simply. "He was acting very weird and depressed, so I asked him what was wrong. He really tried to keep his mouth shut, but I guess I'm just too good."

"How much do you know?" she asked, only a small amount of sound coming back into her voice.

"Everything, from the Fire Sages to the little girl, to the mysterious and comforting voice." I answered. "But there is a lot that I don't understand. Who was that girl?"

Nika looked away. Then, it clicked.

"It was you, wasn't it?" I said, my stomach growing a bit queasy. "They did that to you, didn't they? How could they?" I gasped.

"For many years, I asked myself the same question. I was only a little girl. I was only five." She looked at the sky. "_I WAS ONLY FIVE!!"_

I grabbed the shaking Nika's shoulders and shook them.

"It's in the past!" I yelled. "It's all over!"

"It will never be over." she sobbed. "Never."

"Yes, it will if you want it to. But only if _you_ want it to. Do you want it to be over?" I asked. She nodded and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Then make it happen!" I said. She smiled. I hugged her and she sniffed.

"For so long. I haven't had anyone to talk to about it. Back then, I was still too young to understand it, and by the time I was old enough to care, I was already alone."

I was touched.

"Well, you have us now. I told Aang this before, and the same thing goes for you and Zuko now. Your father and your sister are hunting you. They're not your family anymore. Sokka, Aang, Toph, Zuko and I are your family now. "

"And that's fine with me. Thank you." Nika said and stood up. "And now I have to kick Aang's butt. That is, if Zuko hasn't done it yet for me."

"That's the spirit." I said, and got up to follow the newest member of our little patchwork family.

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**Awww! Look at Katara playing the mom again! Why do I get the feeling that it's in her nature? SENTIMENTALITY!!!!XD But that's normal, right? If Sokka won't tell Nika that she's loved, then Katara has to, right? WATER TRIBE LOVE BABY! Oh, and do you think its okay for me to put the endings of the previous chapters onto the next one? Tell me the answer when you...**

**REVIEW!!!**

**~Sweep~**


	4. Zuko

**Finally, my FAVORITE charachter tells his point of view. Oh, what would the world do without Zuko's pessimistic sarcasm? I would probably keel over from overexcitedness. Is that even a word? Tee hee! Okay, that was officially a crossover moment between this story and Making Fiends. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY VENDETTA!!! I am going to crawl into a hole and die now...  
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"And that's fine with me. Thank you." Nika said and stood up. "And now I have to kick Aang's butt. That is, if Zuko hasn't done it yet for me."

"That's the spirit." I said, and got up to follow the newest member of our little patchwork family.

Chapter 4: Zuko

Night fell. I awoke to the sound of Nika stirring. I was vaguely aware of a faint, orange light illuminating the tent. At that time, I didn't know about the way that Nika reacted when she was thinking about her past, so I was shocked and afraid for her when I saw that her scar was the thing producing the light.

I sat up with a start once I realized this, and, gazing down onto her face, I realized that she was having a nightmare. She was bathed in sweat, and was clawing at her pillow. Her face was scrunched up and she was making soft, pained noises. I wanted to shake her awake, but decided against it. Instead, I rushed over to the tent that Aang, Katara, and Sokka were sharing.

"Aang! Aang, wake up!" I whispered, while shaking him.

"Wha…?" he asked sleepily. "Zuko! What's wrong?" He sat up carefully, not wanting to wake Katara, but nevertheless, he managed to bang his elbow into her ribs, and she woke up anyway. Aang's apologies, mixed with my frantic whispering and Katara's groans of pain, woke Sokka.

_Great._ I thought. _Now that he's awake, we can all have a party. _

"What's going on in there?" Toph asked. Perfect. Now she was getting involved, too.

"Shhh! Just c'mon!" I said, and we all walked single file over to our tent. I opened the flap and everyone crowded around me to look inside. I moved them out of the way and let Aang go in.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"I dunno." I said, shrugging, although it was very hard to do in such a cramped space.

"Fix her!" Sokka cried.

"Stop being such a whiny crybaby!" I snapped, and he was quiet.

"I'll do my best." Aang said, glaring at me.

His hand drifted over to her shivering body, but he hesitated. Katara had told all of us about what had happened to Sokka.

"Hurry up! Nothing's gonna happen!" I said.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

"Just do it!" I hissed. Aang reached out towards her shoulder. His fingers went lower and lower. It seemed like ages before he finally reached her shirt. But when he did, a blinding flash of blue light exploded in front of our faces. When it finally calmed, Nika's face was more relaxed, and she lay still. However, her scar was no longer orange. Now, it radiated blue. I had only seen this blue twice before. Once at the north pole, when I had tried to… you know, and once in the old Ba Sing Se, when Azula had almost… well, we all know what happened. And both times, Aang had been in the spirit world. So that could only mean…

"Nika is in the spirit world." Aang said, concluding my thought.

"How on earth did she get there? And how is she going to get back?" Katara asked.

"I dunno. I think, somehow I may have channeled my energy into her, and sent her there."

"Well then UN-send her before she gets into trouble!" Toph said suddenly. We all looked at her.

"I… I mean… not that I… care or… anything. This is all waaaay out of my league." she stammered. I smiled.

"Toph's got a point. We should get her back before something happens that we might regret."

Aang walked outside and sat on the floor. "Make sure that no one moves our bodies." he said as a final warning, looking at me. I, in turn looked at Katara, who was visibly nervous. I also remembered the North Pole.

Only a few moments passed and he was in the spirit world. Katara had no reason to worry. The atmosphere remained tranquil throughout the entire night. It was so quiet, that the only one awake was Toph.

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**May I offer my sincerest apologies to all of the Toph fans out there before I say this: I think that Toph isn't really one of the main characters. I mean, not that she doesn't rock out loud or anything, but I think that she isn't a big part, as you will be abe to tell in the next few chapters. I am provoking, just so that you will... you guessed it...**

**REVIEW!!!!**

**~Sweep~**

**P.S. Toph deserves her own TV show, that's how awesome she is! But I really don't think that she fits in with the general aura of my story, so she doesn't really have a big part. And to all of you die-hard Toph fans out there, you are going to LOVE chapter 6, which is told in Toph's point of view. **


	5. Nika

**This chapter clears a lot up concerning Nika's ACTUAL purpose. The finding love thing is a nice touch, but it actually has something to do with the third part, and... oops! getting ahead of myself!! Don't forget to review!  
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Only a few moments passed and he was in the spirit world. Katara had no reason to worry. The atmosphere remained tranquil throughout the entire night. It was so quiet, that the only one awake was Toph.

Chapter 5: Nika

I slowly opened my eyes, expecting a mega-headache. And I had a mega-headache. And it hurt. A _lot_. I groaned and sat up. The floor that I was on was a forest floor, composed of leaves, some of which were fresh, others dry, and various other types of undergrowth.

But I wasn't in a forest.

The light was wrong.

I was somewhere else.

Somewhere that wasn't familiar to me.

I pulled my leg back as a small critter ran in between my toes. In doing that, I stepped on its tail. It ran up to my other foot and bit me.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, and watched it run away. Wherever I was, it wasn't exactly the nicest place in the world, judging from what I just saw.

I stood up and began to walk. Every so often, I would have to stop and marvel at some animal or other that crossed my path, and that was larger than anything I had ever seen before. Among others, I saw a gargantuan wolf, a person no larger than my thumb being chased by a monkey in a tunic, and a strange bird with four wings that I recognized as the spirit of fir trees.

However, as I continued to walk, I saw a large panda that immediately befriended me. I got up onto his back, and we flew. Even at the incredible speed that we were traveling, we didn't once barricade into one of the many age old trees.

Eventually, we stopped in front of an especially large tree. The panda put me down. I waved as it ran away.

The air was cold.

This sudden realization was the first step to the next part of my journey. The long ride on the panda's back left my muscles sore, because of the fact that most of the time, I was clinging to its fur for dear life. After stretching my arms, I tried to breathe into my hands. It didn't work. I tried again. It still didn't work. I tried again.

"It's not going to work." a voice said behind me. I turned around, startled.

"Avatar Roku!" I gasped, fell to my knees, and bowed. "It is an honor to be in your presence." I continued, looking at the floor.

"As it is for me. Come, we must speak with one another."

I stood up and followed him, bursting with pride. He had said that it was an honor for _him_ to be in _my_ presence! I smiled as we walked.

"I must speak with about a matter of great importance. This is why you were brought here. It is the only way that I can communicate with you."

"But… shouldn't you be talking with Aang about matters of great importance?" I asked. "After all, you're _his_ past life."

"And how did you know that I was Avatar Roku? How did you know that I am Aang's past life?" he asked.

"I-" I started, but I had no idea. How did I know that he was who he was? After all, I knew nothing about the Avatars and their past lives.

"Ah. But you do. And this is why I must talk to you." he said, and smiled. Wait. Did he just read my mind?

"Like Aang, you have a spiritual connection to the past Avatars."

"Which means…?" I asked.

"We share thoughts." he answered, smiling good-naturedly.

_So you can hear what I'm thinking? _I thought.

"Yes. But you cannot hear what I am thinking." he replied. I frowned.

"Do my scars have anything to do with that?" I asked. Noow, it was his turn to frown.

"What?" I asked.

"Your scars define the disgrace of the Fire Nation." he said, not looking at me. I bowed my head in shame.

"Why?" I mumbled.

"When you were born, I gave one of the Sages a vision, a vision that you were the Ko Na. it was something I should never have done. He immediately went to the Firelord, but your father forbade him to kill you." I shuddered. "Instead, he told him to take you to the temple and do what they did. Those scars tell the future, which is why your father wanted you. He used you to know how the war was destined to end. He was pleased with the results." he said. "Each one of your friends is symbolized by a different symbol." We stopped in front of a shallow pool of water. I watched the ripples in the water, and saw how they formed themselves in different ways.

"The young waterbender and her brother are this." I recognized the symbol on Katara's necklace. "Aang is this." The symbol for the air nomads appeared on the surface. "The blind one is this." The symbol for the Earth Kingdom was clearly readable. "And your brother and sister are this." The symbol of our nation was the last to appear. "It is not when you remember your past that your scars illuminate, but when you are rearranging your future." he said.

"Creepy…" I said. We continued to walk.

"So… what was this matter of great importance that you wanted to speak to me about?" I asked.

"I wanted to reveal to you your true identity." he answered.

"But… I already have an identity. I am princess Nikikola of the Fire Nation, sister of Price Zuko, heir to the Fire Nation throne, ex-daughter of the Firelord Ozai, daughter of Firelady Ursa, niece of General…"

"Yes, you are all of that and much more." Avatar Roku interrupted.

"And I'm guessing that you are about to tell me the 'much more' part?" I said. He nodded.

"Besides being the daughter of the Firelord, you are also the Ko Na."

"The what now?" I replied, somewhat confused.

"The Ko Na. The separated one. You are what some people may call the Avatar's… other half. The first purpose of the Ko Na is to guarantee that the Avatar finds love."

I gulped. Guarantee that the Avatar finds love? How was I supposed to guarantee that Aang finds love?? I didn't like him that way at all!

"But the Ko Na also has a second purpose." Roku continued. "Its spirit must be united with that of the Avatar, or the Avatar cannot be fully reborn."

"How can he not be fully reborn?" I asked, still wondering how on earth I was supposed to guarantee that Aang finds love.

"He can only be reborn as a spirit, not as a full human, a spirit forced to live in the human world."

"But how come none of the legends ever mentioned the Ko Na?" I asked.

"Because the Ko Na is always the other gender as well as the other half. I was fortunate enough to marry my Ko Na, and unite spirits with her in the form of your mother."

"M-mom?" I stuttered. "That means, you're my…"

"It's a small world." he said.

"I see…" I said, trying to absorb what had just been said. "That's a lot of things that I have to take care of. Fight my dad, marry Aang..."

"It may seem like too much to handle, but when the time comes, you will know what to do. Perhaps you are lucky, and one problem may solve itself through the other." he answered, slicing through my train of thought. I nodded gratefully. Maybe he just did that to prevent me from saying the unthinkable. Having...gulp... _Children._

"And one more thing." he added. "You must find a way to unite with Aang before you learn airbending, or this may be the last time anyone sees the Avatar." A glimmer of a smile crossed his face. "However, your job has been made much easier, since I had to look for my Ko Na, while fate has brought you and Aang together." With that, he anished, just as Aang poked his head out of the bushes.

"Aang!" I yelled happily. It was then that I realized that what had been a long trip on the panda's back, was in fact only a few minutes by foot with Roku. I ran up to him, and we walked back to the place where we had come in.

"Who were you talking to?" Aang asked.

"No one." I answered. "Myself."

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**Okay, so this is all that I could muster at the moment, but let me just tell you that I am working on the other chapters, and I am doing my best to find a way to TYPE FASTER!!!!!!!!!!**

**Okay, so that isn't going so well. **

**There is only one thing that I can say, and that is...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!**

**And Nika is NOT going to have a child with Aang. There are OTHER ways to unite spirits, as you will see in Book 3. So don't worry Kataandroids. Your lovely couple is safe. Actually, they are going to be helped by... UGH! Getting ahead of myself AGAIN!**

******REVIEW!!!!!!!! (again)**

**~Sweep~**


	6. Toph

**Tophites rejoice! I think that this chapter actually shows a different side of Toph, as well as the side of Sokka that will eventually cause problems. Yes, I am aware of the fact that all sides of Sokka eventually cause problems, but this is the side that will cause the problem that the entire Trilogy revolves around. For those of you that are blind earthbenders at heart, this chapter is being told from the POV of your idol.  
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"Aang!" I yelled happily. It was then that I realized that what had been a long trip on the panda's back was, in fact, only a few minutes by foot with Roku. I ran up to him, and we walked back to the place where we had come in.

"Who were you talking to?" Aang asked.

"No one." I answered. "Myself."

Chapter 6: Toph

Nika explained everything to us. She explained Sokka's vision, her trip to the spirit world, and her duty as the Ko Na. But the creepiest thing about her was the story about her scars. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing! Nika had scars all over her body? That was just weird! But I guess she really couldn't control what had happened to her, which was kinda sad.

Okay, so I guess you could say that I liked her. She had grown on me, just like Twinkletoes. I mean, sure, I had just thought her annoying when we had first met, but she was kinda cute now. Always having problems and stuff. She was like a lost puppy. Now, I actually listened to her. And Sokka did, too. Very unhappily. He was slumping more than usual. It became especially bad when Nika began to describe the whole "guarantee that the Avatar finds love" thing.

"So… you're saying that you have to unite spirits with Aang?" Katara asked, just to clarify. Nika nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." she answered.

"How on earth do we do that?" Aang asked. His freaked-out tone made me laugh.

"That's not funny!" he said.

I shrugged. "Sorry, Twinkletoes."

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you are. All that Roku said was that we had to find a way to do that before I learn airbending, even though I don't know why." Nika replied.

"I know why." Sokka said, rather glumly. "I'm guessing that because you're the 'other half', as you say, you have to learn everything in reverse order. The Avatar has to master first Air, then Water, then Earth, and then Fire. Aang already knew how to airbend. You already know how to firebend, so the only logical thing to conclude would be that you have to learn first Fire, then Earth, then Water, and finally, Air!"

"That does sound pretty logical." Katara agreed. "But if that were the case, wouldn't Aang have to… uh… _un_learn firebending?"

"Not necessarily." I pointed out. "Isn't the purpose of the Avatar to learn all four Elements?"

"That and bring balance to the world." Zuko commented.

"Of course, _you_ would be the leading expert, wouldn't you?" Katara teased. Zuko glared at her.

"_Any_ways, like I said. If the point of the Avatar is to master all four elements, which, in my opinion, is a pretty hard thing to do in three months, wouldn't the Ko Na person be something like a quick fix?" I continued.

"Well, I don't like to think of myself as a quick fix, but –"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever honey." I interrupted. "All I mean is that if two people are doing a different half of the same job, and then they put both halves of the job together, wouldn't that finish the job? And it all has to do with the amount of time available to do the job. Aang doesn't really have the time to master firebending, while Nika doesn't really have the time to master airbending. I think that want Roku meant was that if Nika were to master airbending, it would take too long. By 'before you master airbending', he probably meant 'before the comet arrives'."

"Gee, thanks." Nika mumbled.

"You're welcome." I answered. No sound. I groaned.

"Look." I said. "All I'm saying is that since Nika already mastered firebending and Aang needs to _learn_ firebending, and since Nika doesn't need to learn airbending because Aang already mastered airbending _for_ her, put them together and you've got yourself a real Avatar. And since they're both learning earth- and waterbending, they'll be twice as good when they're combined. Got it?"

Silence.

"So… you're saying that they balance each other out?" Katara asked.

"That _would_ be a much simpler way to put it." Aang agreed.

"More like _add to one another_, right?" Nika added. I nodded.

"I guess."

More silence.

"Okay!" Nika said, breaking the uncomfortable pause. "Who wants to chuck rocks around?"

"I do!" Aang and I called in unison. I jumped up, happy to finally get some action. We walked off.

"This is so weird." I heard Katara say to her brother. He didn't respond.

"Sokka? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he grunted, and walked away.

-

The storm clouds began to move in as I was teaching Nika how to move a rock. It was a lot easier than teaching Aang how to. Nika didn't have that block, which was good for me, but bad for Katara, since she would have to teach Nika waterbending. We ran over to the campsite. It wasn't going to rain for a while, so it gave me plenty of time to talk to Sokka about the conversation that we had earlier, and why he wasn't so happy about it.

"I told you we should have put up the tarp!" Katara yelled at Aang as I approached Sokka.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." he grumbled.

"What was going on with you earlier?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" he muttered.

"Well, you weren't exactly the happiest dumpling in the bowl, and, as I see it, the honey still hasn't drizzled over you." I replied.

"I'm just… having a bad day." he said, and turned to walk away. I blocked his path.

"But it's more than that, isn't it?" I pressed.

"I… I just can't bear the thought of losing someone again, that's all." he said. I let him go.

_Sokka_

_Nika and I were the last ones to go to sleep. We sat around the bonfire, all alone. Usually, I left with the others. I could tell that Nika wanted to be alone, if just for a few moments, before she went to sleep. I would let her, but not before talking to her first._

"_Nika?" I asked. She looked up from the fire that was slowly beginning to die down._

"_Yes?" she asked. _

"_I'm going to miss you. When you leave." I said. _

"_Why?" she asked. _

"_Because…" I paused. "Because… I love you. That's why." _

_She looked at me in silence. I didn't know why I said it. Maybe it was because I was so alone. Suki was back on Kyoshi Island, and I didn't know what to do without her. I was hurt and sad when she returned home, but she had promised me that she would never love another. But there may have been another reason I might have said what I did to Nika. I might have said it because it was the truth. I promised Suki the same she did to me, and here I was, breaking that promise. So, in falling for Nika, I was only hurting myself more. You see, I was still in love with Suki._

"_Sokka?" Nika asked, her voice quiet. I knew that voice. It was the guilt voice._

"_Yes?" I asked, preparing myself for the blow._

"_I'm going to miss you, too."_

_Ouch._

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**Alright, so the only thing that Nika means when she says that she's gonna miss Sokka is that she loves him too. Not that painful, huh? So why is Sokka in pain? Because... read the last kinda longish paragraph!  
Am I being too childish in saying that Sokka is in love with Nika?**

***SWEEPstakes***

**Answer this question, and if you get it right, I'll send you my idea for the ending. The answer is somewhere in this chapter. **

**What popular Asian food does Toph refer to when she describes the way that Sokka was acting earlier in the day? **

**You can answer, but if you don't want me to spoil it for you, you have to say is:**

**"Dear Sweep,  
I would not like to know your idea for the ending of the **(second, third)** book. The answer to your SWEEPstakes question is **_insert answer here_**.**  
**Thank you,  
**_Insert Penname here_**"**

**Either that, or you could just say this:**

**Dear Sweep,  
I would like to know your idea for the ending of the **(second, third)** book. The answer to your SWEEPstakes question is **_insert answer here_**.  
Thank you,  
**_Insert Penname here_**"**

**Ofcourse, the only way to enter the SWEEPstakes is to, yup...**

**REVIEW!!!!**

**Oh, and I updated my profile. All of the rules and stuff that belong to the SWEEPstakes are there, if you wnat to check it out. Well... you kinda have to if you wanna enter. Tee hee hee... Yes, I am a shameless self-promoter.**

**~Sweep~**


	7. Sorry!

**OMG U GUYS I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED YET!!! My computer totally bombed on me and ALL my files were lost. I hope that you forgive me!! Coming soon: Chapter 7. I WILL TOTALLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU GUYS SHUN ME FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. Secrets Revealed

**ISn't it sad how nothing seems to work out at the end? AWW FINALLY MY NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!! After a long period of waiting, I finally decided to kick my computer and upload again. Enjoy!  
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"_Sokka?" Nika asked her voice quiet. I knew that voice. It was the guilt voice._

"_Yes?" I asked, preparing myself for the blow._

"_I'm going to miss you, too."_

_Ouch._

Chapter 7: Secrets Revealed – Aang

In the morning, everyone was bustling around to gather the supplies as quickly as possible. That is, everyone but Nika. She was too busy trying to convince us to walk.

"But won't Appa be too noticeable?" she asked Katara. Katara, who had by now gotten used to the constant pleading, ignored her.

"C'mon! Appa needs a break!" she begged Zuko, who just walked past her as if she didn't exist. She looked at Momo in one last desperate attempt.

"Momo?" she asked. Momo chirped once and flew onto Appa's head, where he proceeded to groom himself. I walked up behind her, grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around.

"We're flying." I said, a shadow of a smile going across my face.

"But we –"

"No."

"And we –"

"No."

"What if we just –"

"No. And before you say anything else, no."

Nika lowered her finger, which was raised as if she wanted to say something else. She exhaled loudly.

"Fine. I give up." I said. "Thanks _so_ much for your help, brother!" she called loudly towards Zuko, who just grinned and handed her all of her things. She snatched it away and pouted at him in an overly dramatic way.

"You're unworthy of carrying my things." she sneered, but then laughed at Zuko's bewildered face. He frowned.

"Just get on." he said.

"Ladies first." Nika said, waving her hands in Appa's direction. He shot his classic Zuko squint at her, but actually got on.

Nika stuck her tongue out at him behind his back. Katara giggled.

"You respond to 'ladies first'?" she teased. Zuko murmured something unintelligible, but I could hear some things, like "girls", "carrying", and "Fire Nation clothes".

Unknown, Toph had snuck up to the top via the other side. Now, as she poked her head over the side of the saddle to complain about how slow we were, she scared Zuko half to death! He fell back to the ground with a loud thud. We were all rolling on the floor and laughing.

~*~

"_She's too dangerous! We can't risk her getting in the way of our success!" I said quietly. I didn't want anyone overhearing._

"_I know, daughter. She is a threat to all of us. We have to find a way to get rid of her!"_

"_It won't be easy. She is no longer alone. If I had known that she was still alive, I would have taken care of her sooner! But now she is traveling with the Avatar, and that idiot brother of mine is watching over her as well. Not to mention the fact that she has fallen in love with that Water Tribe oaf."_

"_I see. This may be interesting. However, if we are to capture her, we must do it in a way that she would never suspect. We must find a way to kill her quietly, without those fools getting in the way. Can I trust you to take care of that for me?"_

"_Of course you can, Father. But there is another idea that just dawned on me. Why must we kill her? She would be a valuable addition to your army, and considering the fact that the Avatar needs her as well, he will be guaranteed to follow. Then you would have both. My sister would fight for us, while the Avatar… well… he must be taken care of."_

"_I understand your logic, Azula. But how will we convince her to join our side?" _

"_By playing with her feelings, of course. The oaf that she is in love with is her only weakness that we know of. I know how to get to him and to her, all in one shot. While tracking the Avatar, I discovered someone that may prove to be useful. I am holding her prisoner as we speak." I turned towards the door. "Bring her out!"_

~*~

Sokka was quietly looking out into the clouds.

Katara was frantically looking through her things.

Suddenly, she stopped and sighed in relief.

"What's wrong? Or rather… what _was_ wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's over now." Katara smiled and pulled her necklace out of the jumbled mess. "I just thought that I lost my necklace, that's all." At the word "necklace", Nika's eyes perked up. She was interested. She scooted over to where Katara was holding it in her hand.

"May I see it? I mean… only if you don't mind." Nika said politely.

"Of course you may." Katara said, nodding. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Uh huh." Nika answered sincerely, and took it from her. She stared at it in fascination, turning it around and around, looking at every inch of it. Her eyes grew wide in recognition.

"Of course…" she whispered. "That's what he meant! That's the symbol!"

"What symbol? That's what who meant? What's going on?" Zuko asked. Nika began to disrobe. I blushed. She looked at me and giggled, but didn't stop. She handed the robe to her brother and turned around. There was only a short bit of shirt covering her back, and I saw an amazing sight. As Nika later explained to us, what I was seeing was the future. And I wasn't happy at what I was seeing. There we all were at the top. Toph, Sokka and Katara, Zuko, Nika, and I. Then, there was a large circle with the Fire Nation in it, larger than the first one, no doubt representing Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. We all had a path that led down to the bottom. And at the bottom, the only thing that was left was the Fire Nation circle. The large one. There wasn't even a trace of us. We were all gone.

"How?" Sokka asked.

"I suggest you all gather around. I'm about to tell a story." Nika said.

"Whoopee." Toph said sarcastically.

"It was long ago." Nika started, after we had all turned around. She faced Zuko.

"Do you remember, brother, when mother told you and Azula that I was going to be gone for a while?"

"All too well." Zuko answered with a frown. "Although Azula seemed pretty happy, as if she had just defeated someone or something." he added with disdain. Nika snickered.

"Anyway," she continued, "while I was packing, father decided to grace me with his presence. He said that I would have to pack a larger suitcase, since I would be staying away for a longer time. He said that I should pack my best clothes and such. When I asked him why, he said that I was going to be meeting a lot of very important people. I asked him who, and he said that I was being too nosy. After that, he wouldn't talk to me until I left." she remarked sadly.

"Yeah, I remember." Zuko said. "Mother told us that she would be coming with you. I was sad because Uncle was away at war, and I would have to spend an entire weekend with father and Azula and Mai and Ty Lee." He shuddered. "When I asked mother when you would be coming back, she said that she didn't know. It wasn't exactly the answer that I wanted, but it was something at least. So when mother returned home alone, I feared the worst." he said. Nika smiled. "But I never found out what happened." he added.

"I think I would rather spare you the details. Knowing would only make you feel worse. You're lucky that you weren't there. But me?" She fingered her necklace. "I have to carry a reminder of it with me everyday."

"You can tell us." I encouraged. "We've all been through a lot, and I think that's what has held us together. It's why we're a family. We've all been through the same pain."

"Yeah, I mean, your brother may have not been a part of our group for very long, but we were still with him every step of the way. We knew his story, and helped him realize who he was, helped him to become the person that he is now. Now, he's as much a part of our family as anyone, and you can be, too." Toph added. Nika looked at us and sighed.

"It happened when I was five years old…" she began.

* * *

**Foreshadowing!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Yeah, you'll have to read the next chapter now. hope that this wasn't a dissappointment to you all. Oh well... **

**Anyways, if you take alook at my profile, you'll see that I'm working on _The Caretaker_, and I can say that I have sucxcessfully started it XD and perhaps (after part 3) I will publish it (finally)**

**More chapters to come! And remember**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!**

**Sweep**


	9. The Silence

**A beautifully described window into the past, told by the point of view (kinda) of Ursa when she takes Nika to the palace of the Fire Sages. It's really kind of depressing that they do this to a small child; it also (ooh... I used a SEMICOLON) illustrates why Ursa loves Nika so much. It's purely materialistic, really... ENJOY!!!!!  
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_"Yeah, I mean, your brother may have not been a part of our group for very long, but we were still with him every step of the way. We knew his story, and helped him realize who he was, helped him to become the person that he is now. Now, he's as much a part of our family as anyone, and you can be, too." Toph added. Nika looked at us and sighed._

_"It happened when I was five years old…" she began._

Chapter 8: The Silence

"Bye bye Zuko."

The young girl waved sadly as she stepped onto the carriage.

"Come home soon." the boy replied, melancholy evident in his voice. She nodded, and watched as her mother said some final words to her father. He only nodded, a seemingly solemn mood curving his face, but deep inside, both children knew his true feelings.

"MOOOOMM!!!" their sister whined. "Nika didn't say goodbye to me!" Their harried mother turned towards her second child and smiled warmly.

"I'm sure that she didn't do that intentionally. Don't forget, Azula, you didn't say goodbye to her either."

Azula crossed her arms.

"I'm not the one leaving without a trace." she mumbled. The girl got off of the carriage once more and walked over to her sister. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.

"Bye bye Zula." she whispered, and let go. The annoyed child had a surprised look on her face. No one had ever… done that to her before. It felt… strange, and… good, and… comforting! She stood at her father's side and watched her brother wave to the carriage as it began to roll down the path. Zuko stood there until the small vehicle was only a tiny speck in the distance, long after everyone had gone back inside.

"_I remember how sad Zuko was when we left. I felt really bad, like it was my fault that he was so sad. It was, in a sense, but I was too young to be able to do anything about it. A pity, really. I might have saved him a few sleepless nights…"_

~*~

"Mama, when are we going to be… uh… there?" the child asked, staring over the rim of the ship with great difficulty. Her mother walked over and lifted her up, placing her on her hip. She pointed to a tiny, dark sliver in the horizon.

"See that little line over there?" she asked. The girl nodded.

"That's where we're going." the mother said, setting her child back down.

"But mama, how are we going to stand on that tiny little thing?"

The woman smiled at her child's curiosity.

"It's a magic land." she replied, picking the girl back up. "It gets bigger and bigger as we get closer to it, and when we get there, it's going to be so big, that we can walk around on it!" The girl's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Really?" she gasped. Her mother nodded.

"And there's going to be a big castle and lots of very important people. In fact, you're going to meet one _very_ important person. Look! It has gotten bigger already!"

"I see it! I see it! It's gotten _so_ much bigger!" she shrieked happily. Her mother laughed and set her daughter back down. The girl began to jump up and down in an attempt to look over the rim again.

"It's… getting… bigger… every… time… I… jump…" she said, and jumped higher, almost falling over. Her mother caught her just in time. She shook her head slowly. Only her daughter could manage to fall over the edge of a military ship. Thank goodness she didn't.

"_That was the funniest thing that happened to me the entire trip. Besides that, the trip was pretty much uneventful. It was the last time me and mom had real fun together, real alone time. Of course, I was sad that Zuko wasn't there, but a girl has to settle for what she can, right? And there was no turning back now..." _

~*~

"This place is coooool!" the girl said as soon as they stepped off of the ship. Her mother had made her change into a dress before they arrived at the small, crescent shaped island. They walked up to the path to a large temple.

"Mama, is this the castle?" the child whispered in wonder. The woman stared straight ahead, the memories of the last visit to her grandfather clouding her thoughts. It was a dark day, just like now. She was beginning to regret coming here, but her husband had insisted on escorting their child to the Temple of Fire.

"It's so _big_." the young girl continued. "You could probably fit the entire Fire Nation in there!"

The mother looked at her daughter and sighed. Whatever it was that infatuated her daughter so was a mystery to her. Everything about this place was dark and looming, not exactly a very child-friendly building. Even though it was hard for her to admit it, Ursa couldn't help but to wonder why her grandfather had chosen this particular, crescent – shaped island for his final rest.

It was desolate.

Aside from the narrow, dirty paths that led up to the ominous gate at the entrance, there were no roads, except, perhaps, for the small rivers of lava that flowed down the side of the volcano to eventually harden in the cold ocean.

Ursa remembered a legend that her father used to tell her.

The God of Fire once fell passionately in love with the Goddess of the Water. He would stroke her white hair and tell her how much he loved her. She believed him. Then, the great day came when the God asked the Goddess to marry him. When she accepted, he was so happy that he burst out of the Earth with spectacular displays of fire and heat (and much destruction). The very next day, the wedding took place. But when the Goddess wouldn't comply with changing her wedding dress from blue to red, the God grew so angry that he chased her with fiery rivers back into the sea, where her heart grew so cold that she turned to stone. To this day, whenever her children come to visit their father, they share the same cruel fate.

It was strange how most of the Fire Nation legends were so gruesome and sad. There was only one happy one, and to this day, Ursa wasn't fully convinced that it hadn't been altered to convince teenaged girls to procreate for the sake of procreating. Once again, she looked upon her daughter, and wished to any spirit that would still listen that her child wouldn't have to suffer the same fate that she had suffered.

" _I had always wondered why mother was so afraid to let me wander the dark and damp corridors without her. It was like she was afraid of losing me the same way she had lost herself once."_

"_You're being unusually insightful today." Sokka commented. Nika shrugged. _

"_Maybe it's the story."_

~*~

Sadness and sorrow… perhaps loneliness?

Running through the corridors, lost.

Suddenly, a voice. Calm, reassuring. He knew the way. She took his hand and trusted him with her life.

They found the way. They found love. He was royalty. She was not.

They married. She felt something that she had never felt before. Painful, yet somehow pleasurable.

Nine months later. A boy.

Soon after, that same painful pleasure. She was a girl.

It was a girl.

No more pain. Just pleasure and happiness, something she had missed for a year now. Was it two?

Another girl. She was beautiful. No golden eyes. Brown.

Accusations. Crying. Begging. Forgiveness.

Raising three children. And now she was here.

With one.

Those godforsaken corridors. She liked to call them the corridors of doom. Yet, that feeling of being in a familiar place, one that wouldn't scoop her up and then drop her into a place that she didn't want to be in filled her with pleasure.

A painful pleasure. It wasn't the same pain as before, though. It was a longing kind of pain. A longing for the same blissful, ignorant innocence that she was born with, the innocence that was taken away from her by force when she was just a young child. A young, married child. At nineteen.

She stared at the looming gate before her and swallowed deeply, as if she was facing the apocalypse, and she wondered whether or not she should go through with it. She did.

There was a force that drove her on. It was her duty as a manifestation to her grandfather that made her walk down the damp halls to the closed door. It was her duty as a daughter to her father that kept her from grasping her child and running when the strange, robed men opened it. It was her duty as a wife and lover to her husband that made her place half her love into the center to be burned. It was her duty as a mother to her son that forced transparent words out of her mouth to ease the fear in her heart. And it was the duty to herself that helped her to walk out again. Alone.

"_I thought the world had ended when mother left me by myself in that horrible place. My young mind wasn't developed enough yet to understand the concept of leaving because you want to stay forever but can't."_

"_Do you understand it now?" Aang asked. A tear slid down the young woman's face as she turned to her brother. _

"_Of course I understand it, or else I would still be at home, with you, where I don't belong!" she sobbed. He pulled her into his arms, and the siblings cried together. And though only one was crying with her tears, all of the children were crying with their hearts. _

* * *

**-sniff- please... review -sniff- BUA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	10. Blackout

**AN: sorry! I think I may have screwed up the files and stuff O_O Weeeeell w/e the case may be, this is the REAL chapter 9, and not a part of my Pucca Fanfic lol^^ Enjoy!**

* * *

"_I thought the world had ended when mother left me by myself in that horrible place. My young mind wasn't developed enough yet to understand the concept of leaving because you want to stay forever but can't."_

"_Do you understand it now?" Aang asked. A tear slid down the young woman's face as she turned to her brother. _

"_Of course I understand it, or else I would still be at home, with you, where I don't belong!" she sobbed. He pulled her into his arms, and the siblings cried together. And though only one was crying with her tears, all of the children were crying with their hearts. _

Chapter9: Blackout

I didn't know Nika like I knew the others, but seeing her crying like this, in a way that was a strong contrast to what she usually presented, made me want to do whatever it took to help her stop. Appa roared.

Nika picked up her head from where it was resting on Zuko's shoulder and slid down to where Aang was sitting in the crook of Appa's neck. He happily moved up for her. She stroked Appa's head, all the while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"What would I do without a friend like you?" she cooed. She looked at her necklace, and then turned to us.

"This symbol was given to me in the temple of the Fire Sages. They said that it would help me to find my true meaning in life. I think that the only thing it's done is provide a painful reminder as to what happened that day." She mumbled, so that it was difficult to hear her. But what we did hear loud and clear was her next statement.

"I HATE THIS THING!!!" she screamed, tearing the ribbon off of her neck. Now, the events that happened in the next few seconds were a mystery to me.

Nika's eyes glaze over.

She begins to waver.

Toph yells at us to catch her before she falls.

Aang reaches out to grab her cloak.

He grabs it.

Nika slips through it and plunges into the clouds.

Her necklace follows.

"Nika!!!" Sokka cries. He turns to Aang desperately. Aang is already unfolding his glider, but thinks better of it and simply jumps after her. I watch fearfully as he uses airbending to increase his speed and catch up with her.

I see a strip of land and begin to steer Appa towards it. We descended rapidly enough so that I could hear Aang yelling.

"Nika!" he called. "Wake up!" When she didn't respond, Aang was left wondering what to do. They were both falling to the ground from an incredible height at a dangerously fast speed, there was little Aang could do to stop them, I was too far away to be of any use, and the only thing that could possibly save them from dying a horrible (and flat) death was Nika regaining consciousness, which wasn't about to happen. I recognized where we were. It was the Shore of Kyoshi Island, where we had landed for the very first time a few weeks earlier. The irony. The place where Aang was about to get killed was the place in which he was the most appreciated. They were getting closer to the ground.

"Aang!" I cried desperately. Then, I realized that he was never going to make it. I looked away. I couldn't bear to witness it. Appa roared in agony. Or… was it surprise? I turned and saw that Aang had realized what I had, and, at a point of desperation, had triggered the Avatar state.

Zuko moved scooted next to me. He had never seen Aang in the Avatar state other than when he was getting his butt kicked (during which he was too busy running for his life to pay attention…)

In a brilliant display of waterbending, Aang brought a wave up to where he was falling next to Nika. She plunged into the wave, slowing her speed. Aang slowed himself down by encompassing himself in an air sphere, and landed on the ground. He stood drunkenly for a moment, like he usually did after exiting the Avatar state, and then ran on the water, small ice floes steadying his steps, to where Nika's seemingly lifeless body was slowly sinking underneath the waves.

By now, I had landed with Appa and was watching the entire scene with sick relief. I had only once experienced this feeling. It was when I was watching Sokka build his lookout tower when we were young children. Suddenly, Sokka slipped and fell. I knew that even if I ran faster than the wind, I would never make it in time to catch him, or at least soften his fall. I arrived at the scene, sure that I would find Sokka with every bone in his body broken, including his neck, when I saw that he had landed headfirst in a snow pile. It was a mixture of relief and horror.

Aang was swimming towards us, Nika's arms around his neck. Zuko carried her towards the rest of us and set her down near Appa's tail. I gasped. Her entire body was covered in her tattoos! I hadn't known that! They went from her left eye all the way down to her feet. No one else seemed surprised by this. Was I the only one that noticed? No, I realized. Aang was staring at her in wonder as well.

"What's wrong with her, Katara?" Sokka asked me. I looked at her. I wanted to say "nothing", but something definitely wasn't right. I walked over to where everyone was crowding around her. There was enough water left on her body for me to examine her properly.

"Well…" I started.

"Well what?" Zuko asked angrily. I gave him a dirty look.

"She's not… physically hurt…" I continued, not sure of what to say.

"Well, then what is she?" Toph asked.

"Don't rush me!" I snapped.

"Now wait just a darn minute…!"

"If she's not physically hurt, then why isn't she… er… awake?" Aang asked, cutting Toph off before this could escalate into a fight.

"I dunno." I answered. Toph sighed.

Does _this_ have anything to do with it?" she asked, picking Nika's necklace up off of the floor. Sokka took it and carefully placed it around Nika's neck. As soon as he shut the clasp, her eyes jerked open. A swirl of orange light entered her pitch black eyes and she blinked.

"What…?" she asked. "Ugh…" she groaned, and grasped her head. The orange had completely entered her entire eyes, and it was turning brown now. It was the most amazing thing that I ever saw happening to a person. She wavered a bit, and I reached out to catch her, but she steadied herself in time.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked.

"I'm fine, as always…" she said suspiciously. "Why are you all looking at me? What happened?" Then, she looked down at herself. Realizing that her scars were exposed, she blushed.

"Where's my robe?" she asked, frantically trying to cover herself. Zuko handed it to her. She snatched it away from him, glaring at him angrily.

"Don't you remember what_ just_ happened?" I asked, emphasizing the _just_.

"I remember one thing. We were in the air, and now, we're on the ground."

"And between that?"

"I dunno. What's going on?" I was about to answer, when a small head poked out of the bushes. It was a little girl. Her eyes widened when she saw Aang.

"Aang, Aang, Aang!! You're back! Yippee!!!!" She ran down and hugged him. A million other faces peered out of the reeds that surrounded the shore. Of course. Along with Kyoshi Island came the swarms of adoring fans. They all shared a similar reaction to Aang's presence. The crowded around him, until one of them took notice of Nika. She turned around protectively, giving her an evil stare. I had to snicker. She was so little, yet so dangerous!

"Who's she?" she asked quietly, menacingly.

"She's… uh… a princess!" Aang answered quickly. Nika looked at me questioningly, but played along, bowing formally. She was greeted with a chorus of oohs and aahs.

"Sokka?" a voice asked with contained excitement. Uh oh. Suki. This wasn't going to end well. I was all too aware of the Nika-Sokka relationship.

"Nika!" I called. I was relieved when she turned to face me. I motioned for her to come over to me. As she was walking over to me, Suki planted a kiss on Sokka's lips. I shook my head when I thought of what would happen if Nika were to find out about… them. I hoped that nothing bad would happen…

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**Let's just hope that everything goes well... except for the fact that it won't because there's and entire part three that I have to type up. lol I already wrote it out, but I'm just too lazy to type it!**

**REVIEW!!!!!**

**~Sweep~**


	11. Prayers

**Alright. If the Chapter numbers are confusing you (as they are me) then let me explain. (And if they don't, bear with me). About a week after I published Chapter 6, My computer went down. And I mean REALLY down, with repair people and everything. Everyhting was gone. So, I had to go out and find myself the notebook that I had written Book2 in, and type everything up. NOw, I had given the book to my friend, who has a dog that can't control his bladder. So, I had to deal with a notebook that smelled like dog pee, and that had absolutely no legible content in it. After making out the words to the rest of the chapters, I finally published some more. See what I do for my fans? Anyways, Chapter7 that is entitled SORRY! is actrually an apology, and not Chapter7. So there.  
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"_Nika!" I called. I was relieved when she turned to face me. I motioned for her to come over to me. As she was walking over to me, Suki planted a kiss on Sokka's lips. I shook my head when I thought of what would happen if Nika were to find out about… them. I hoped that nothing bad would happen…._

Chapter 10: Prayers

I wondered why Katara wanted to talk to me. What a dumb question. She obviously wanted to fill me in on what had just happened. It was all like a giant blackout. One moment, it was dark, then something strange happened, and then I was here. Perhaps I fell, because that's what it felt like.

"So… what happened up there, Katara?" I asked.

"You mean… you don't remember?"

"Wasn't that already established?"

"I guess…"

"Well, I realize that I blacked out, but…"

"Think hard!" she encouraged.

"I… was yelling, right?" Katara nodded. "I was so angry, that I ripped off my necklace. Then, everything… went dark. Somehow, I was… trapped somewhere. I couldn't firebend, but I tried, again and again. I heard Aang calling me. It sounded… far away, like it was somewhere where I couldn't reach it. I couldn't see Aang, either. Suddenly, all of my energy was being drained by something. Or rather, it was like there was a hole in me that was open, and it was leaking out all of my vital force. I was getting weaker and weaker, and I was about to pass out. I was really cold, I remember. Then, right before my final strength gave out, it got really hot so that I was burning, and then I died, but at the same time, I woke up again."

Katara looked at me skeptically.

I sighed. "That didn't make any sense at all, did it?" She shook her head. "Well, that's really all I can tell you."

"I guess that'll just have to do then." Suddenly, I sensed someone behind me. I turned around quickly. It was Sokka. He was holding hands with a girl I had never seen before. Suspicions crowded my mind, yet I somehow refrained from jumping to conclusions. I stared at her, expressionless. I am still very tentative when it comes to meeting new people. I have trust issues.

"Suki, Nika. Nika, Suki." Sokka said, attempting to introduce us.

"Hi, Nika. I'm Suki." She smiled warmly and extended her hand. I didn't move. I didn't even blink. Suki withdrew her hand akwardly. I stood motionless, trying to analyze this person. When I first entered the group, I made it one of my general rules to not like girls that talked or held hands with Sokka. I mean, Katara really didn't count because she was his sister, and half of the things that she said to him were insults, and Toph… well… Toph wasn't really a _girl_ in that aspect was she?

This… Suki person was very good at keeping eye contact. Not once did her gaze waver from mine, not even with Sokka trying to get us to stop staring at each other. He flailed his hands in between us and snapped his fingers in front of our faces. Next, he tried pulling my hair and poking Suki in the temple. I was forced to snatch his wrist millimeters from the clasp to my necklace.

"Hello, Suki." I said quietly and proceeded to bow as an obeisant. "Sokka has told me of you."

"I did? I mean… I did!" Sokka added quickly.

"Sure you did. This is probably why Nika seemed so happy to see me." Suki added sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Judging by the way that she spoke to Sokka, I deemed it alright to trust her… for now. She was probably just holding hands with her because they were really good friends, just friends. No love involved whatsoever, except, of course, _friendly_ love…

"Suki, right?" I asked. She nodded courteously. "How did you and S- how did you meet the group?" I asked quickly, not wanting to sound too suspicious.

"Oh… Aang and Co. just happened to pass by one day. We… sort of… ambushed them." she answered, scratching her head sheepishly. I smiled. She was indeed mostly trustworthy. At least, she hadn't given me any reason not to trust her as of that moment.

She looked around at us, a bedraggled group of adolescents.

"Uh… would you guys like to… er… freshen up?" she asked suddenly. I nodded vigorously. I could hardly remember the last time that I had taken a hot bath. It seemed as if eons had passed since then.

We followed Suki up the path to the village with Appa in tow. It seemed like a small island, the town surrounded by a forest covering the hillsides. The houses were arranged in neat rows with dirt roads leading in between them (a typical Earth Kingdom Village layout) with a bridge leading to another section of the island, one with more green meadows and small shrines. We crossed the bridge over a small river that cut through the flowing grass and walked up steps that were cut into the side of a hill. Excited chatter filled the air as we passed the villagers that were eagerly peering out of their windows, some even walking into the streets to greet us.

After what seemed like a thousand hellos, we finally arrived at a small cluster of thatch-roofed huts that deemed as small "guesties", as Suki called them, of course referring to their purpose as guest quarters. There were enough so that Zuko and I were able to claim our own, while Sokka and Aang agreed to share one, and Toph and Katara took another.

The settlement was built so that the houses, in a jagged row, wrapped around the top of a high hill that was relatively far from the village, at the inner edge of the forest where it began. My hut, along with that of the two boys, was on the side closer to the forest that shaded the entire north side of the island. The one that belonged to Zuko faced the mountain on the western side, while Katara and Toph faced the village in the south towards the water.

There were two roads that led down into the town from where we were. One was straight up and steep, slicing what looked from afar almost like an unnatural seam into the land. It plowed through the grass carelessly, oblivious the disgusting way it looked. It had a purpose, and it was bent on fulfilling it, no matter what got in its way.

The second, as I realized upon arriving on the top that overlooked most of the island except for the mountain, was winding and narrow, and it dispersed amongst the houses before continuing down in a snake-like fashion. It seemed more… right, in a way. Unlike the path we had taken up, it moved with the land, curving and dipping where it needed to. I could tell that this road was older, and that it was created long before the threat of a Fire Nation attack had forced the people to build the straight one.

The small quarters also showed care for the land. The hard-packed earthen floors showed no manifest of ever being overlaid with wood, and all of the vases and pots that decorated the small wooden shelves were made of clay found in the heart of the mountain. A small, communal water pump stood at the top of the hill. After unloading my things, I took the liberty of walking up to where the two roads met in a small circle around the base of the pump.

I touched the metal and could feel the water flowing underneath the earth. The clay in the ground had filtered out the salt in the ocean water and created freshwater, which it had deposited into the groundwater reserve. Eventually, the level had gotten up too high, and it had created the river that now separated the hills from the shore.

I smiled, happy that there was at least one place still left on this earth that had survived a Fire Nation attack without being taken over. Although there were still a few singed straws on some of the rooftops, it was nothing compared to what I had seen during my days of travel. People weren't crying and moaning in the streets, little children weren't holding out their hands for food and money to feed their families… this place was largely self-sufficient.

I sat on the side of the road and contemplated this, the warm afternoon breeze stirring my hair around my face. It was quiet, the only sound around me being the far-off rustling of the leaves in the forest. Toph had taught me how to extend my Earthbending senses around me so that I could see something happening far away without actually being there. I submerged the tendrils of my energy underneath the grass and the topsoil, sinking deep down into the depths of the hill, closing my eyes and orienting myself only by the center of gravity that rooted me to the earth. I felt the world… calling to me, whispering to me things that no one but me could hear. Things about love and courage and betrayal rang in my mind, stories of conquerors, great powers, and separation. It was the story of how this island came into being.

_We know who we are_

_and we will never forget the pain_

_We will never be torn apart_

_by the foolish game that is an endless war_

_Those that try to tear us apart_

_will soon realize, much to their dismay_

_the truth will manifest in their minds_

_that our love bonds us in unknown methods_

_and that those who try to overtake us_

_will seem to have succeeded in breaking our faith_

… _but will have only made us stronger!_

The last defiant proclamation sounded so loudly that I jolted back into my body with a force more incredible than I had ever known. I felt energized and new, like the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi that lived in this island had recharged my body with a war cry. I ran down the road to my house and threw open the door, ready for what I had been dreading the entire week. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a small table cover that I had bought at a market, a miniature wooden trunk that I had saved from a soldier, two sticks of incense, and two moonpeaches. Finally, I took out my two most prized possessions, things that not even Zuko knew I had. One was a royal hair piece that had been given to me at birth, and the second was a, though slightly worn, perfect picture of my mother.

I arranged all of the things on the small wooden table in the corner so that they became a small altar. I knelt in front of it and felt all of my sudden energy drain back into the earth where it belonged. I knew that it was only borrowed, so I did not fret. It would return when I needed it.

I tried to be thankful for everything that had happened to me, and for all of the good fortune that the spirits had bestowed on me, but I couldn't help but to let a small tear roll down my face as I thought about how I would never, ever see my mother again. But I was grateful. After the years of suffering without my family, I finally had Zuko again.

"Happy birthday, Mom." I whispered. I remembered something that she had told me right before we had stepped into the temple at the Crescent Shaped Island.

"_Why are we coming here, mama?"_

"…"

"_Mama?"_

"… _whatever happens, you must remember that you are very special. Very, very special. You will do good things one day."_

"_Like father?"_

"_No, child. You will do other good things. Different things. But while you are doing all of these good things, you must remember this: whatever happens to me, whatever happens to you, you will always be my daughter no matter what. It doesn't matter if we get separated. I will always love you."_

"_Like you love Zuko and Azula?"_

"_Yes, like them. I love all three of you __**so**__ much, enough that it hurts."_

"_If it hurts, then why do you love us so much? Maybe I should stop loving you and you should stop loving me so that your heart won't hurt anymore!"_

"_Never say that, darling. Promise me that you will never say that, okay? Promise me that you'll never forget that I love all of you. Promise."_

"_Okay, mama. I promise…"_

"Please, mom…" I whispered. "I was such a good girl. I didn't forget my promise, not ever. I didn't forget, mom, I swear! I never stopped loving anything or anyone. I still love the entire world! And I love it for you, mom, and for me. Please, mom… please don't leave me or forget me. Protect me. Please…"

Somehow, I hoped that she couldn't hear me, because if she could, she would have had to be dead. But she wasn't and I hung on to that. Tightly.

The last of the energy left me… and the tears finally came.  


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**review**


	12. Firebreath

**yeah, yeah... Listen, I know I haven't exactly been very faithful with updating the chapters, but a lot of s*** has been going on in my life lately and I think that most of you swimmers would understand. Anyways, this is the next chapter of my trilogy. Enjoy!!**

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Suki picked up a dumpling from her own plate and pointed to an empty bench towards the middle of the audience that was slowly beginning to gather.

"_What's going on?" I asked as we sat down._

"_It's Zuko and Nika. They offered to perform a peace ceremony that they learned in school." Suki answered. I munched thoughtfully on a piece of… something that tasted good._

"_Hey, I didn't know that Fire Nation schools taught things having to do with peace." I said._

"_Shhh!!!" Suki said. "Here they come!"_

Chapter 12 - Firebreath

The sun was setting, illuminating the sky with brilliant reds and pinks and yellows, along with colors that no known word could describe. I would have been content with simply watching the light slowly fade over the horizon. But it seemed like Zuko and Nika had some other things planned for the audience. They stood silently on either side of the big log pile that had been created from most of the reserve wood that was kept for the winter. I saw that Nika had changed out of the dress in the time that I had been milling around with Suki amongst the stalls. She was now wearing something that looked like what Katara always wore to waterbending practice. The only difference was that the material was a shimmery purple satin instead of our rough Southern Water Tribe seal fur cotton.

Zuko wasn't wearing a shirt. Akward… but his pants matched his sister's outfit.

"Aren't Nika's clothes beautiful? Look at how they shimmer in the sunset!" Suki whispered. I nodded absentmindedly, much more concentrated on devouring the food that was still silently taunting me.

The crowd grew quiet, so much that the only sound in the distance was the song of a bird and the hushed breaths of an expectant village. I looked up and caught Nika staring at me. She blushed and quickly looked away. That got me to thinking. Was Toph right? Could it be that Nika wasn't as cold as I had always thought?

A quiet, steady beat rung out from the two drummers that were seated on opposite sides of the wooden monolith.

_Thump thumpa thump… thump thumpa thump… thumpa thumpa thump…_

_Thump thumpa thump… thump thumpa thump… thumpa thumpa thump…_

Zuko and Nika began to move, slowly at first. Kneeling down, they placed both of their palms onto the side of the wood pile. Every movement that they made… it was like looking at both sides of a mirror. They removed their hands and turned to where the sun was lingering, almost like it was waiting to receive their embraces. They pulled an invisible string from the sky and turned back to face their original target. They bent backwards until their hands touched the ground underneath their heads. It looked almost like the bridge that crossed the river in the middle of the island.

My food was gone now, and there was nothing hindering me from watching what was going on.

They began to raise their right leg up to the sky until it was exactly perpendicular to the ground. It was strange. Normally, I would have considered this to be a very girly position, but the way that Zuko did it seemed almost too… natural.

"What are they doing?" I asked Suki. She turned to me angrily.

"They said that it was supposed to symbolize the rising and setting of the sun. Now stop asking so many questions!"

I huffed obnoxiously, but did as I was told.

The siblings stood at either side of the woodpile, positioning themselves the same way that they had been at the beginning of the ceremony, with their hands touching the woody mass. They turned, facing opposite directions, and then spun to face each other again. Zuko pushed his hands down, interlocking his fingers in front of him, as if he was about to begin a formation. Nika spun on one leg, doing a reverse back flip towards her brother. She repeated the spin and the front flip, resting her hands on her brother's shoulder. She let go and cartwheeled in front of him. He caught her waist as she passed, guiding her to the other side. They faced each other again, exchanging a grateful glance, and went to the same positions, only on reverse sides. The entire dance exchange had actually only been a switching of viewpoints!

Their movements were mesmerizing, especially Nika's. I stared at her with fascination, her face beading up with sweat from the intense concentration. I felt Suki snuggling into my arm warmly, enjoying the ceremony.

Nika walked around back, so that all I could see was Zuko. He began to recreate a series of movements that resembled a very complicated firebending technique. Every once in a while, he shot a ball of fire into the air enthusiastically, showers of brightly lit sparks raining down around him and extinguishing on the grass. Oohs and Aahs emanated from the enthralled spectators, my voice mixing with theirs. But where was Nika?

In what I assumed to be the final phase of his solo, Zuko side-stepped to the center of the stage and shot of a pillar of fire straight into the air. It was a magnificent display of might that made my head spin happily. But… what was that emerging out of the fire? Nika's slender silhouette was barely visible behind the motion of the fire, which wasn't even close to lighting the timber. Zuko continued to repeatedly shoot fire into the air at a seemingly unbroken interval while Nika performed a seductive and exotically hypnotic dance, hidden behind the anonymity of the flame. Her hands moved outward and inward gracefully, flowing with the swirl of the fire, matching the beat of the drum perfectly. She spun once, raising her hands towards the sun.

"Hm." Suki said, slightly annoyed. "I didn't know she was so good at… um… dancing…" I ignored her comment, instead paying closer attention to what was going on in front of me.

All eyes were on her as she kneeled, still hidden by the translucent flame, and bowed in the direction of the sun, which was almost set. Zuko stopped shooting out his flame and vanished to some unseen corner of the podium. No one noticed his disappearance, which I think was the point. All eyes were focused on the girl stooped on the pile of wood, which was at least twice her size. It looked ominous at first glance, but the confident way that she looked at the skies posed her as the dominant one. She raised herself slowly, increasing her uprightness by a miniscule increment with each beat of the drum, until she was sitting on her heels. She raised her face to the steadily darkening sky, and inhaled deeply. A thin strand of fire came out of her mouth, twisting and writhing in the summer air.

I watched as the fire from Nika's breath fed it and it slowly increased in size, taking the form of a slender, elegant dragon. She stood slowly as it wrapped itself around her body, curving itself around her waist and through her legs. It blew past her hair, throwing her hair up in its passing. It danced around her and she joined it, willingly mimicking its movements… or was it mimicking hers? Whatever the case may be, she raised her hands up, and it flew, higher and higher, until she brought it back. In one swift movement, she threw her hands down. The dragon plunged into the wood loudly, emitting an almost roar-like sound.

At first, I couldn't see anything. It was completely dark, and the stars shone brightly in the sky. The moon was almost full, I could tell. Suddenly, I saw a glowing, small at first, but gradually getting larger. It grew and grew, and I saw Nika, raising her arms ever so slowly. The drums beat faster and faster, until the drummer's hands flew over the surface of the drum so that I could barely see them. Suddenly, Nika dropped to her knees in a trance-like way. She fell onto her side unconsciously, so that I almost wanted to reach out and grab her and save her from the expanding core. Another figure stepped out behind her; Zuko had returned to finish the ceremony.

He took one hand and rolled her down, where she hit the floor in a way that looked romanticized, but was probably pretty painful. She stayed there, unmoving, as Zuko heaved his arms onto the wood. Fire exploded around him, and he vanished. The fire was finally lit! It crackled and popped eagerly as Nika awoke. She stared at the fire in wonder, her back facing us, then raised her hands graciously, crossing her legs behind one another and bowing to the enormous inferno. She turned to us, her eyes glittering in excitement. Gathering two ribbons of fire around her, she spun quickly. It was only once, and it was in a flash, but the fire encased her, and she disappeared in the small twister. There was absolute silence, until the audience jumped to their feet and roared a thunderous applause. I jumped up along with them, whooping enthusiastically. The Firebreath Ceremony was complete.

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**So, I'm glad that went well. And... I'm sorry to say... the next chapter will be the second to last one. Just thought I should give you the heads up so that you don't get mad at me for not updating. I'll put a bit WARNING sign on the next chapter, just to be sure you guys don't miss it^^**

**Now, do me a favor and...**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!**

**~Sweep~**


	13. Awakening

WARNING: THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! ... alright so that was my warning that I promised you in the previous chapter. I know, I know. I'm sad that it has to end, too. But do remember that this is only the second book, and that the final book is well on its way. The sad thing is that I wrote the third book almost a year ago (yes, that is how long its been... I remember starting the first book in the seventh grade... I'm going to be a junior when summer ends... -sniff-) Oh well. Enjoy this chapter, and remember to look for the last one soon!

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Chapter 13: Awakening

"That was amazing!"

Sokka greeted me enthusiastically as I made my way through the crowd. Suki stood hesitantly to the side.

"I'm… I'm glad you liked it." I answered, blushing just the tiniest bit. "Zuko and I… he learned it in school. It was optional, but he learned it. And then he taught it to me."

"I guess that shows something about both of you." Suki replied, tugging at my arm. "Let's go change back into our regular clothes!"

"Why?" I asked. I hadn't yet gotten a chance to properly show off that dress that she had lent me.

"We're going mushroom picking!"

"Mushroom picking?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah!" Suki exclaimed, perhaps a bit too exuberantly. "It's a tradition here on Kyoshi! We all pick a junior partner to be our assistants, and then we go into the woods and pick wild mushrooms!"

"That sounds really… fun." I answered, not sure of what to think.

I walked up to my guest hut quickly and changed into what I had been wearing on arrival. Twenty minutes later, we had all assembled back in the square. I came last since my hut was the farthest away from the designated meeting place. I was greeted by a bunch of excited and fidgety children, who were dancing around in anticipation.

"Guests!" Suki announced. "Choose your partners! Aang, would you like to begin?"

Immediately, the children came to life, shoving their hands in Aang's face and blatantly advertising their skills. They had obviously been waiting for this moment.

"Pick me, Aang! I can see in the dark!" a girl cried.

"No, pick _me_! I'll find you the most mushrooms!"

"Oh shut up, you'll just eat them all like you did last time!"

"I did _not_!"

"Did _too_!"

"Quiet, both of you! Everyone knows Aang-y will pick me!"

"Pick _me,_ Aang! I'll be better than all of them put together!"

"Ladies, ladies!" Aang said, desperately trying to calm them down. "I think I'll pick this little guy over here."

"KORU?" they shrieked simultaneously. Aang nodded sheepishly. They frowned at him.

"He'll pick me next time!" the first girl whispered to the girl next to her. She nodded vigorously.

"Alright then…" Suki continued hesitantly. "How about you, Nika? Would you like to choose?"

Zuko cleared his throat and leaned in towards her. "Actually, I think that's _Princess_ Nika…" He said that as if he wanted to be discreet, but everyone obviously heard him. I was surrounded by screaming children almost instantly.

"Princess! Princess Nika!"

"I love you, Princess Nika!"

"But I love you _more_!"

"If you pick me, I _promise_ you'll win!"

I ultimately picked the little girl all the way in the back, which seemed to be getting trampled by all the others. She came forward elatedly, and almost fell forward in a jerking attempt at bowing.

"My name's Nanagi." she said quietly. I pushed her hair out from her face. She looked like she could be my little sister.

"Aren't you a cutie pie?" I whispered. She blushed happily.

"I'll make sure you win!" she answered. I smiled. If this child was anything like me, then we would be back in no time. After the rest of us had chosen our partners, Suki began to go over the rules.

"Now, most of you have already heard the rules hundreds of times, but since our guests are new to this, I will go over them again."

Groans of dissatisfaction and annoyance ensued. But one stern look from Suki and everyone was silent. I looked around. Apparently, we weren't the only ones participating. True, it was a little weird to see the famous Kyoshi Warriors with their make-up on, lined up next to a motley hodgepodge of young girls and boys, but I knew they were just there as fillers. The true honor in being a junior partner came from assisting strangers and other interesting people… given they weren't weird or dangerous. Nanagi was holding my hand eagerly as Suki raised her voice above the humming of juvenile voices.

"Firstly, there will be no working together with other teams. Either it's you and your partner, or it's nothing. Secondly, there will be no transcommunication…"

"What does that mean?" Nanagi asked innocently.

"It means that there will be no talking to other… hey, wait. I thought you knew the rules already!"

Nanagi shrugged. "Suki never taught them to me. We didn't have any teams when we were training, you know? And since this is the first year I'm actually doing this, this is the first time I'm hearing about any of that 'other team' stuff."

"… between teams." Suki continued. "Anyone caught cheating will be disqualified. There will be no allies, deals, pledges, or other secret transactions. The team with the most edible mushrooms that arrives at the square before the sun has completely risen will be declared the winner, and will retain the title until next year. Anyone who arrives after the time limit will have to scrub and peel all of the mushrooms collected for the mushroom vendor…"

"Get me my mushrooms! Wooooooooooo!"

I turned around. There was an old man cheering from the mass of onlookers who had come to see us off.

"Is this like a… bigger thing on Kyoshi?" I asked Nanagi as the others began to depart. She handed me a basket with a purple ribbon tied to it. I took it and she began to pull me into the woods.

"Us kids spend all year training for this day. You guys came at just the right time!" she answered. "The story is that we, the people on Kyoshi Island, were really hungry because a big storm had killed all of the ships that brought us our food. Avatar Kyoshi spent four whole days and nights in the forest collecting mushrooms for the entire village. They say that she asked the spirit of the mushrooms where all the food was, and that the mushroom spirit came into the world like a little kid and showed her which ones were good to eat and which ones where _blech_."

"_Blech_?" I asked. Nanagi shrugged.

"Yeah, you know. Like… poisonous and stuff."

"Oh… of course…" I replied, cringing at the thought of eating a poisonous mushroom of Kyoshi. "And you know the difference?"

"Of _course_ I know the difference, Princess Nika!" she answered, putting her hands on her hips in annoyance.

I noticed how dark it was getting.

"Say… didn't you bring a lantern?" I asked.

"That's a dumb question." Nanagi said. "Why would I bring more stuff to carry, if you could just make light yourself?"

"Good point." I said. Her face lit up at my praise.

_She's really enjoying my company…_ I realized. _And I didn't even tell her where I come from! I guess it's a good thing that she doesn't know who I am... I mean, I've been hiding behind my identity for… almost my entire life, actually. This is the first time I've ever… had a conversation with someone who didn't know who I was... I mean, Aang doesn't count because he knew right from the start that I was special. Nanagi… she's such a cutie… I actually like talking to her… she sees me as someone special, but not someone overly powerful… she called my question dumb. That's not how you talk to a real princess… I like it… somehow…_

"Hey, Princess Nika, I have a question." Nanagi said, knocking me out of my train of thought.

"Yes?" I replied. She fidgeted anxiously.

"I wanted to know… since you're a princess and everything… can I… I mean… would you take me to your palace?"

I stopped walking. My palace? _My_ palace?

"I… uh…" I stammered.

"What's wrong?" Nanagi asked, pulling at my pants. "Don't you have a palace? Every princess has to have a palace!"

"Of course I have a palace. I just… I just can't really go there right now."

"Why not?"

"Well… the thing is… I can't really get back to where I need to be, that's all."

Nanagi's eyes widened. "I get it…!" she gasped. "You're not a regular princess. You're a… a _magical_ princess! You don't belong here! You're stuck here, right? Right?"

I kneeled down in front of her.

"Nanagi, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone that, okay? If you promise not to say anything, then I'll take you with me to my palace when I leave, okay?"

Nanagi nodded dutifully.

"Great!" I said, standing up. "Now, let's go find some mushrooms!"

The sun was just starting to rise.

"Princess Nika… we… we have to get back…" Nanagi said, yawning heavily. We had been walking the entire night, and the mushroom basket was heavy with mushrooms of a wide variety, all of which, according to my lovely junior partner were safe to eat. I hoisted her onto my back.

"Stay awake, okay? You still have to tell me how to get out of here." I whispered.

"Okay, Princess… Magic…"

Nanagi trailed off, punctuating her last word with a soft snore. I shook my head endearingly. Kids.

I found my way out without much trouble, considering that the group ahead of us was making so much noise that it was easy to follow them. It was Koru, pestering Aang with thousands of nonsensical questions. I suppressed a giggle when I saw Aang's exhausted face. Apparently, this had been going on all night. I looked up as we exited the trees. There was still plenty of time until the sun rose completely.

I decided to drop Nanagi off at her parent's house first.

"Nanagi… Nanagi…" I whispered, shaking her awake. She rubbed her eyes.

"Where do you live?"

After getting a few mumbled directions from my partner, I managed to carry her down the road, back to the small, ramshackle hut that she called home. The moment I saw it, I knew why she had been so eager to visit my "palace". The thing was smaller than the guest huts, with one room serving as the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom put together.

_Poor thing…_ I thought, setting her down. Her parents rushed out to greet me, and I noticed the mother was pregnant. I peeked in behind her and saw two other young children sleeping peacefully on a thin, earth floor.

"Thank you for bringing our Nanagi home, young Princess." the father said, bowing respectfully. I smiled as he raised his head.

"It was no trouble at all." I answered. "Thank you."

He picked Nanagi up and she rested her head on his shoulder, falling asleep almost instantly. I bent down and took off my shoes. A golden ankle bracelet dangled there. I took it off.

"May I…?" I asked, pointing to Nanagi. The father nodded. I carefully tied it around her wrist.

The mother touched my shoulder as I turned to leave.

"It's not usual to see a young woman who would give up something that valuable to a child of such a young age." she murmured. I smiled.

"This belongs to her now. Let her do with it what she wishes."

"Of course, your Highness." he said. I smiled, picking up the basket of mushrooms. I scooped out a handful and gave it to them.

"Eat them for breakfast tomorrow." I said. The father nodded gratefully.

I turned back towards the square with happiness in my heart that can only be achieved by passing on another person's love.

I yawned. If I didn't long for the nice warm pillow that awaited me at the top of the hill, then I would have just lay down and slept right on the main road.

I hummed a soft tune as I trotted down to the square, back to the site of the bonfire. What I saw when I got there… my heart would never beat again.

* * *

**Pretty darn suspenseful for a second2last cahpter, huh? Nah, you're right. It's not so great. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me just remind you that this is the last stop before the end of the second book. Yeah... I guess you've realized that by now. I'm going to be nice and say that Azula makes an appearance... you don't find out about that until the next book, but she shows up in the last chapter. **

**Oh, and by the way, I want to know what you guys think about my writing. Yea. You know.**

**REVIEW!**

**... erp.**

**~Sweep**


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